Confederate Names Replaced For 2 Schools In Loudoun County

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — Two Loudoun County schools will start the next school year with a new identity, dropping old names with links to the Confederacy and slaveholding.

On Tuesday, the Loudoun County School Board approved renaming Francis Hazel Reid Elementary School in Leesburg and Mercer Middle School in Aldie, effective July 1, 2025. Francis Hazel Reid Elementary School will be renamed Mildred and Richard Loving Elementary School, and Mercer Middle School will be renamed Gum Spring Middle School.

School board members voting against the Francis Hazel Reid Elementary renaming were Leesburg District representative Lauren Shernoff, Ashburn District representative Deana Griffiths and Catoctin District representative Kari LaBell. Members against the Mercer Middle School renaming were Shernoff and Griffiths.

The action comes after committees of community and school members for each school recommended changing the names.

Frances Hazel Reid refers to a Loudoun Times-Mirror employee and co-founder of a United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter. The Mercer name is tied to a slaveholder affiliated with the American Colonization Society.

Loving Elementary School and Gum Spring Middle School were the committees' top recommended names for the schools.

The previous school board started a process in June 2020 to review all LCPS facility names and mascots to address systemic racism. Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School and Mercer Middle School's names were taken up for review in October 2022, but the school board did not take up the name changes before their term ended.

The newly-elected school voted decided to move forward in June 2024 with considering renamings of nine schools, including Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School and Mercer Middle School. The school board then appointed renaming committees for the two schools.

"Names matter. They send messages about who we honor and what we believe in by changing the name to one that is inclusive," said Little River District representative Sumera Rashid, who introduced the motion to rename Francis Hazel Reid Elementary. "We are not erasing history. We are just choosing to stand for equity, respect and dignity for all students, staff and families."

Ashburn District representative Deana Griffiths spoke out against both name changes, arguing that renaming funds are better spent to improve school quality. Griffiths called the Francis Hazel Reid name change a measure of "political correctness" and pointed to a community survey showing more opposed a name change than supported it.

"The overwhelming feedback we've received shows that our families, teachers and community members do not support these changes, and I stand with them," said Griffiths. "We are entrusted with the responsibility to prioritize what matters most: the education and wellbeing of our students and the support of educators who make that possible. A name change, especially one that the public does not support, is not just symbolic, it's costly."

Vice Chair Anne Donohue (at large) said the Francis Hazel Reid Elementary renaming decision was more difficult, given the namesake's contributions to Loudoun County and the status of women.

"I admire the things that she has contributed," said Donohue. "But it is also an established fact that she was one of the co-founders of the Loudoun Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization whose purpose was to perpetrate the false narrative of the Lost Cause and to hold up as honorable people who fought against their own government to be able to own other human beings and to intimidate and oppress people of color."

Broad Run District representative Linda Deans spoke in favor of choosing new names, saying "The school name makes a difference in a child's level of anxiety, which might even go into PTSD, so I am comfortable with moving forward with renaming these schools."

Loudoun County Public Schools estimates that the name change would cost about $70,000 for Francis Hazel Reid Elementary and over $213,000 for Mercer Middle School. Renaming costs include changing signage, school spiritwear and other materials.

Seven others schools will be considered for renaming at a later time — Belmont Ridge Middle School in Leesburg, Belmont Station Elementary School in Ashburn, Seldens Landing Elementary School in Leesburg, Sully Elementary School in Sterling, Hutchison Farm Elementary School in South Riding, Ball’s Bluff Elementary School in Leesburg and Emerick Elementary School in Purcellville.